Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

Immigration Advocates Braced As ‘Public Charge’ Rule Goes Into Effect

The Trump administration rolled out a rule on Monday that advocates say will have a chilling effect on immigrants seeking needed help through programs like Medicaid and food stamps. “It’s sending a message that says, ‘you’re not welcome,’” said Marty Martinez, Boston's chief of health and human services.

The Associated Press:
Crackdown On Immigrants Who Use Public Benefits Takes Effect
Pastor Antonio Velasquez says that before the Trump administration announced a crackdown on immigrants using government social services, people lined up before sunrise outside a state office in a largely Latino Phoenix neighborhood to sign up for food stamps and Medicaid. No more. “You had to arrive at 3 in the morning, and it might take you until the end of the day,” he said, pointing behind the office in the Maryvale neighborhood to show how long the lines got. But no one lined up one recent weekday morning, and there were just a handful of people inside. (2/24)

Reuters:
New U.S. Rule Targeting Poor Immigrants Sows Fear, Confusion, Advocates Say
The Trump administration rolled out a new immigration policy on Monday that bars people deemed likely to require government benefits such as housing and food assistance from obtaining permanent residency in the United States. Local and state officials overseeing public health and social services in New York said that some immigrants were disenrolling from certain food assistance programs and Medicare even if they might not be affected by the rule, which places new limits on eligibility for green cards. (2/24)

Boston Globe:
Immigrant Advocates Concerned With Public Charge Rule
Advocates in Massachusetts are looking to ramp up efforts to protect immigrant families after a federal court ruling cleared the way for the Trump administration to limit immigration of people it believes will depend on government assistance. At a City Hall teach-in Monday, the advocates said the court ruling will open the door for the administration to discriminate against classes of immigrants, such as those from poorer countries. The event, attended by dozens of community leaders, was organized as an effort to inform community members about the extent of the administration’s effort. (Valencia, 2/24)

The Wall Street Journal:
Fewer Immigrants Sign Up For Food-Subsidy Program
New federal rules that could prevent some noncitizens from getting lawful permanent-resident status if they use public benefits is depressing the number of low-income immigrant women who enroll in a program to provide food and other assistance, New York City officials said. Enrollment in the federally funded Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, better known as WIC, is available to low-income pregnant women and children up to the age of five, regardless of immigration status. It provides nutrition education, food and breast-feeding support. (West, 2/24)

The Washington Post:
Trump Says Sotomayor, Ginsburg Should Recuse Themselves From All 'Trump Related' Cases
President Trump attacked Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a pair of tweets late Monday night, days after Sotomayor issued a dissent critical of both the Trump administration’s legal strategy and the court’s majority for enabling it. Tweeting just before appearing in a welcome ceremony at the Indian ceremonial president’s residence in New Delhi, Trump cited a Laura Ingraham segment on Fox News titled, “Sotomayor accuses GOP-appointed justices of being biased in favor of Trump.” He then called on Sotomayor and also Ginsburg to recuse themselves in “all Trump, or Trump related, matters!” (Flynn, 2/25)

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